PM Modi at G7: Is Carney undoing Trudeau's Khalistan policy?

Time of India

14 hours ago

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to invite Prime Minister Modi to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, scheduled for June 15–17 represents a calculated effort to recalibrate Canada–India relations. The invitation came in the backdrop of wide speculation that Carney might not invite Modi due to deteriorated India-Canada relations over the killing of Khalistani separatist
Hardeep Singh Nijjar
in Canada last year.
Since Canada is just a host to the G7 Summit, it seemed impossible for Carney to decide on behalf of other member countries. Secondly, Carney pointed out India's increasing importance in the global order due to its rising economic and geopolitical strength. Clearly, Carney could not block Modi from the summit.
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But there is far more to Carney's comments on inviting Modi to the summit. Carney has pointed at better bilateral understanding over law enforcement issues, hinting at the Nijjar murder probe. "In addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there's been some progress on that, that recognizes issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi in that context," he told reporters in Ottawa.
However, Carney also went on to downplay the
Khalistan
issue which was aggressively used by his predecessor Justin
Trudeau
against India. In a sharp break for Trudeau's policy, Carney said it was an ongoing probe and he would not like to comment on it.
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Carney exhibited a clear shift from Trudeau's Khalistan policy which effectively meant pleasing Sikh radicals at home for votes by bad-mouthing India. Continuing with his father's legacy of mollycoddling anti-India Khalistani groups, Trudeau had thrown India-Canada ties under the bus to achieve narrow political gains. Carney appears to be salvaging Canadian foreign policy from fringe domestic politics.
Trudeau sacrificed India-Canada ties for narrow political game
In the realm of international diplomacy, national interest and geopolitical pragmatism typically guide statecraft. However, Trudeau challenged this conventional wisdom for his petty political game. Trudeau's handling of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar -- a Canadian citizen and a Khalistani separatist who ran terror training camps in British Columbia to groom hitmen for strikes within India -- marked a rare moment in global politics where a leader appeared to subordinate bilateral relations with a strategic partner to narrow domestic considerations. The Trudeau government's repeated insinuations that India was behind Nijjar's death, despite acknowledging a lack of concrete evidence, not only strained ties with India but also raised questions about the internal pressures shaping Canadian foreign policy.
In September 2023, Trudeau shocked the global diplomatic community by publicly asserting that "credible allegations" linked Indian agents to the killing of Nijjar. Canada had not completed its investigation, nor did it provide publicly verifiable intelligence to support the charge. In fact, in subsequent interviews and parliamentary exchanges, Trudeau admitted that no "definitive proof" had yet emerged. For a democratic leader to make such a consequential allegation without conclusive evidence was unusual.
It appeared more as a politically calculated move. Trudeau's statement came just months before provincial elections in British Columbia and ahead of a general election cycle where the support of Sikh voters could influence outcomes.
Trudeau's willingness to accuse India publicly, in the absence of due process, was a political maneuver to safeguard this voting bloc and ensure continued backing from Jagmeet Singh's NDP, which propped up his minority government in Parliament.
Is Carney undoing what Trudeau did?
In sharp contrast to Trudeau's shenanigans on Nijjar's murder, Carney exhibited a measured approach to the issue when he was quizzed at a press conference yesterday.
When Carney was asked the reasoning behind his decision given the history of sour ties between the two nations over the killing of Nijjar, he said, "Well, first off there is a legal process that is literally underway and quite advanced in Canada and it's never appropriate to make comments in any respect with respect to those legal processes," he said.
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When asked why, despite the Nijjar probe, he was inviting PM Modi for the G7 Summit, Carney said, "With respect, I gave you an answer that is appropriate to someone in my position about an ongoing legal process, including which federal authorities are directly involved." Carney further said, "I will give you the same answer to any legal process and anyone who holds this office, past and future, will give the same answer to any ongoing legal process because otherwise the individual in this office will interfere."
Carney added, "We are a country of the rule of law. The rule of law is proceeding as it should in Canada and I am not going to disrupt that process."
This is how Trudeau was expected to respond to the Nijjar issue. But he took to playing municipal-level games in a high-stakes global dispute when even his own agencies ruled out any link to top Indian authorities.
Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Trudeau, Nathalie G. Drouin had issued a statement in November last year, correcting irresponsible speculation by the Canadian police. 'On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India. The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or
NSA Doval
to the serious criminal activity within Canada," she said.
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Clearly, the Canadian government had no evidence linking Indian authorities to Nijjar murder but still Trudeau and his police officials were issuing misleading statements.
Carney seems to be putting a lid on Trudeau's dangerous game of promoting anti-India terrorists to capture Sikh votes with scant regard for Canada's global interests. In backing Khalistani sympathizers for short-term political gain, Trudeau had compromised the long-term integrity of Canada's foreign policy. The episode underscored the risks of allowing domestic electoral considerations to override the careful calibration required in international diplomacy.
As global dynamics shift rapidly due to Trump tariffs and emerging geopolitical scenarios, Canada would do well to reassess the cost of allowing fringe politics to dictate state relations -- especially with emerging powers like India, whose geopolitical and economic heft is only set to grow. Carney seems to have understood this. But only time will tell how long he resists the temptation of playing the Khalistan card.